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Oschersleben 2015
The meeting is set to be the seventh round of the 2015 DTM Championship, hosted at the Motorsport Park Oschersleben in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.'Season guide: Oschersleben', dtm.com, (DTM, 2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/event/2015-oschersleben?language=en-gb, (Accessed 02/05/2015) Oschersleben had already been involved in the 2015 calendar earlier in the season, hosting a pre-season test that saw Pascal Wehrlein set the fastest time.'WEHRLEIN THE QUICKEST ON THE FINAL DAY OF TESTING AT OSCHERSLEBEN', dtm.com, (DTM, 16/04/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/wehrlein-quickest-final-day-testing-oschersleben-2015-04-17.html, (Accessed 01/09/2015) There were two unlikely winners on the Championship's return to Germany, as Wehrlein took the lead of the Championship. Timo Glock claimed his second DTM win of his career from pole on Saturday after fog had condensed the practice session to just half an hour. Race two, meanwhile, saw Tom Blomqvist take a maiden victory in only his fourteenth race after a dominant display. Background Timo Scheider returned to Team Phoenix after his ban in Moscow, with the team rejuvinated by Mike Rockenfeller's victory in Russia.'DMSB PRONOUNCES SENTENCE FOR GAMESMANSHIP', dtm.com, (DTM, 26/08/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dmsb-pronounces-sentence-gamesmanship-2015-08-26.html, (Accessed 29/08/2015) Antonio Giovinazzi, meanwhile, went back to his Formula 3 duties in the mean time, as Audi maintained their lead in the Brands Championship, ahead of Mercedes and BMW. It was an Audi driver at the head of the Drivers' Championship, with heading the charge by six points. That margin was over Pascal Wehrlein, the best Mercedes driver, with four drivers with a realistic chance of the title as the season came into its final throwes. Jamie Green and Edoardo Mortara completed that quartet, although there was still a chance for Bruno Spengler and Marco Wittmann, the best of the BMW drivers. Only the Teams' Championship was not in Audi's hands coming into Saxony, as HWA (Wehrlein's team) led the field, ahead of Ekstrom's Abt Sportsline outfit. Team Rosberg looked to be set for third, although they could come under pressure from the second Sportsline and HWA teams over the final races. Mixing it with that group were two BMW entrants, RMG and MTEK, as the Bavaria boys continued their upward trend in form. Entries Below is the entry list for the : Qualifying (Race One) The Saturday morning fog heavily disrupted the schedule for the day, with a short practice session only allowing a limited amount of running. That may have been to the benefit of BMW and Timo Glock in particular, as the ex-F1 racer claimed a stunning pole position in the cold conditions. He was also the first of five cars from Bavaria, as Augusto Farfus and Tom Blomqvist completed the top three. It was an impressive display by the rookie Brit too, with Blomqvist achieving his best ever quali result at a track he had never seen before. Behind and Bruno Spengler was Pascal Wehrlein, who was the highest placed of the title contenders and the best non-BMW. He was in a lonely sixth for the Stuttgart squad, as he had two more BMWs in Marco Wittmann and Martin Tomczyk immediately behind him. Completing the top ten was an all Audi fifth row, as Miguel Molina and Edoardo Mortara finished the session just two an a half tenths of the pace of Glock. Maxime Martin was the only BMW not to make it into the top ten, although his twelfth place meant that it was a story of struggles for the other two manufacturers. They would share the bottom half of the grid equally between them, with , Championship leader, surprisingly slowest of all. He was to be promoted to 23rd when Lucas Auer had a penalty applied to him post-qualifying. The other title contender was Jamie Green, who claimed thirteenth. Post Qualifying (One) The results of the qualifying session for the first race are displayed below: ** Auer serves a penalty and drops to last position. Grid The starting grid for the is outlined below: Race One A dry Saturday afternoon, with temperatures on the rise after the morning's fog, was a surprise, but a welcome one, for the field for the first race of the weekend.'DTM OSCHERSLEBEN: RACE 1 AT A GLANCE', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 12/09/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dtm-oschersleben-race-1-glance-2015-09-12.html, (Accessed 21/09/2015) Timo Glock was another surprise, with the German securing a first pole position earlier in the day, and was now hoping to secure a second career win. Pascal Wehrlein was expected to end the race at the top of the Championship, the best placed of the title contenders, with starting on the backrow, and expected to struggle. Report The tight first chicane of Oschersleben was slated as being the most likely cause of an accident at the start of the race, and so it proved to be. As Glock pulled cleanly ahead of the field, Augusto Farfus braked slightly too late and locked up his front wheels, sending him wide. and Bruno Spengler took full advantage as Farfus and Tom Blomqvist (who was just on the wrong side of the Brazilian) recovered to remain in the top ten. But, the first corner drama was to come further down the field. Robert Wickens had to dart around Mike Rockenfeller into the braking zone for the chicane, putting him onto the white line on the edge of the inside of the track.'Race 1 Highlights - Rewind - DTM Oschersleben 2015', youtube.com, (YouTube: DTM, 12/09/2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_VyGkkmuxE&list=PLrjmhNF7Jz1xW8fwdM2XKA5hyCtpleSw4&index=16, (Accessed 21/09/2015) Momentum and late braking meant that contact was inevitable, but it was the angle of impact that caused all of the drama, with Wickens sliding into the rear left of Jamie Green. Green's spin carried him into another car, with luck almost inevitably carrying him into the back of team mate , with heavy damage to both cars. Debris littered the track, bringing out the Safety Car, as all of those involved continued for the time being. With so much carbon fibre scattered across the first corner the DMSB opted to have the field drive through the pitlane behind the safety car, although the interuption was only brief. With almost ten minutes gone, the race was back underway as Glock pulled away from the field, with the symptoms of the first corner crash beginning to tell. Later in that lap, Wickens lost his bonnet down the back straight, shattering across the circuit when it landed back on the circuit with the Canadian out of the race and the safety car back on circuit. But, just one lap later and he field was racing again, with Glock streaking ahead for a third time. Over the next few laps, Green and Muller dragged their cars into the pits with damage related issues, both ultimately caused by the contact at the first corner. Rockenfeller, meanwhile, was placed under investigation for causing the first corner accident, while Paffett] limped down the pits with an overheating issue. No punishment would come for Rocky as he pitted with damage to his car, while Glock led from Spengler, da Costa and Farfus, the Canadian having slipped past the Portuguese driver at the restart. Wehrlein, meanwhile, was running a healthy fifth as the best of the Mercedes cars, but was beginning to struggle with the same overheating issue that had ended Paffett's day. Christian Vietoris, meanwhile, dropped down the field after he saw his bonnet begin to peel of the front of his car, while Edoardo Mortara limped into the pits with an unspecified issue. Ultimately, however, there was no one who could challenge Glock at the front of the field as he completed his second career victory without any threat from behind. As Timo Scheider tried to dart past Maxime Martin for eleventh, Glock completed his drive to win by almost two second from Spengler, with da Costa the only other driver within ten seconds of the leader. Farfus was a comfortable fourth ahead of new championship leader Wehrlein, who had to fend off a late challenge from Marco Wittmann. Blomqvist and Martin Tomczyk ensured there were seven BMWs in the top ten, with Miguel Molina and Daniel Juncadella rounding out the top ten. Result The full result from race one is displayed below: Qualifying (Race Two) Although the morning warmup suggested that the balance of power had swung in Audi's favour, qualifying on Sunday proved that it was anything but, as Augusto Farfus and Tom Blomqvist claimed an all BMW front row for Team RBM.'FRONT ROW OF THE GRID FOR BMW – WEHRLEIN THIRD', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 13/09/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/front-row-grid-bmw-wehrlein-third-2015-09-13.html, (Accessed 22/09/2015) There was just two hundredths of a second separating the rookie Blomqvist from a maiden pole position, with Farfus just getting the better of him. Pascal Wehrlein claimed third for Mercedes, as the Stuttgart squad made some inroads into the Bavarian battalion. , Paul di Resta and Marco Wittmann completed the top six, and were all within a tenth of a second of Farfus' time for pole. Race One winner Timo Glock was just outside the tenth barrier in seventh, accompanied by the third Merc of Christian Vietoris on row four. Completing the top ten were Miguel Molina, the first of the Audis, and Bruno Spengler, as BMW once again looked to take a clean sweep of the podium, if they could deal with Wehrlein at the start. Just eight tenths of a second covered those in the field who managed to complete a clean lap, with Robert Wickens two seconds off the pace, knowing he would serve a 13 place grid penalty. Mike Rockenfeller qualified thirteenth but would lose three places for his part in the accident on Saturday, as Audi struggled to improve upon their poor result on Saturday. The Drivers' Championship also looked to be escaping them as well, with down in eighteenth, Edoardo Mortara sixteenth and Jamie Green in fourteenth, and all needing to get past a host of Mercedes' to get into the points. Post-Qualifying (Two) The results of qualifying for race two are shown below. ** Rockenfeller slapped with a three place grid penalty for causing a collision in race one.'HARSH PENALTY FOR WICKENS', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 13/09/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/harsh-penalty-wickens-2015-09-13.html, (Accessed 21/09/2015) *† Wickens serves a 13 place grid penalty for causing a collision and place on probation. Grid The grid for the is shown below: Race Two Dry and warm, Sunday afternoon promised an exciting race, although several drivers were critical of the circuit layout, which restricted the use of the DRS system.'Race 2 - Re-Live (English) - DTM Oschersleben 2015', youtube.com, (YouTube: DTM, 13/09/2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ySCu9HVZZU&index=6&list=PLrjmhNF7Jz1xW8fwdM2XKA5hyCtpleSw4, (Accessed 22/09/2015) That said, the start was to be the crucial factor of the race, with an out of form Brazilian, a rookie and the Championship leader in the top three grid slots. Augusto Farfus had already lost out from pole at Zandvoort, while Tom Blomqvist had never started so high in his short DTM career. That left Pascal Wehrlein as the potential race leader from third, although time would ultimately tell who led out of the first turn. Report Farfus made a good start from pole, but would miss out on the lead after an outstanding start by Blomqvist, who snatched the lead into the first corner on the brakes. With Farfus securing second, and Marco Wittmann managed to force their way past Wehrlein for third, although the defending Champion unsuccessful in attempting to run the youngster outwide. The inevitable contact was to occur further down, with Miguel Molina spun around by Christian Vietoris, and was unable to get back into the race.'DTM OSCHERSLEBEN: RACE 2 AT A GLANCE', dtm.com, (ITR e.V., 13/09/2015), http://www.dtm.com/en/news/dtm-oschersleben-race-2-glance-2015-09-13.html, (Accessed 22/09/2015) The safety car was called to remove the Spaniard's car despite the insistance of Audi to get him to try to move it, with Blomqvist in the lead. Also out of the race was who had been unfortunate to choose the wide line through the first turn, and was hence run wide into the gravel trap. But, the pause was only to be brief, with the safety car back in within five minutes. It was status quo at the restart, as Vietoris escaped punishment for causing Molina's spin. Paul di Resta, meanwhile, ran behind Wehrlein after the restart and began to drop back to give the potential Champion some breathing room as he went after the BMW quartet at the front of the field. Bruno Spengler and Jamie Green were battling in the mid-field, with the Brit squeezing the Canadian wide and costing the former Champion a valuable amount of time and places, as the field pounded round on their fifth lap. Robert Wickens had been one of the big winners from the two starts, leaping from 24th and last to fourteenth in the space of the first five laps. He immediately attacked Spengler when the Canadian rejoined from being run wide, with the concertina effect causing the two Canadians to come to blows. Spengler lost a section of his rear bodywork while Wickens left with a hole in his front bumper, although both continued on without major issue. With DRS enabled for the first time during the race on lap six, and with 50 minutes remaining, the action hotted up throughout the field. Wickens was the first to lose out, with Edoardo Mortara streaking past on the main straight, before Vietoris fell to the pressure put on him by Maxime Martin for ninth. The next few laps were not any better for the German, as he saw Green, and Spengler all force their way past into the first corner, leaving him a battered twelfth. With 40 minutes to go, the pitwindow opened, heralded by the arrival of Spengler into the pits for a fresh set of tyres. For the next twenty minutes the order was constantly shuffled as drivers trickled into the pits, with only one incident of note. Martin Tomczyk was released into the path of di Resta after his stop, with the two running down the pitlane side by side. Tomczyk had gained sixth as a result, but was duly sent back to the pitlane to serve a drive through, as di Resta reclaimed sixth, and Blomqvist made good on his quick stop. Edoardo Mortara was the last man to pit, although his proved to be a terminal visit after a suspension failure as the race settled down over the final third of its life. Wehrlein was attacking da Costa for fourth when his team radioed him to ask him to manually switch the pit light (which indicates that a driver has completed their mandatory pitstop) on. A few desperate seconds cost Wehrlein time as he tried to find the switch, with the DMSB announcing that he was being investigated, despite his search being successful. With a few seconds left, and effectively two laps to run, the race came to a premature end when Lucas Auer slammed into the barrier on the outside of the final corner. The Austrian, having been lapped by Wehrlein just moments before, got caught out by the lack of downforce when running in the wake of Wehrlein's car through the final corner, and slid wide. The highspeed nature of the final turn meant that he carried enough momentum to split the tyre barrier that seperated the cars from the armco, and the red flag was thrown to end the race with 40 seconds left to race. With the race counted back one lap, Auer was classified as a finisher in seventeenth, although there were no other changes to the order. That left Blomqvist to take a surprising, but dominant maiden win for BMW, ahead of Farfus and Wittmann, who had slipped by da Costa at the stops. Wehrlein left with fifth and a fourteen point lead over Ekstrom (who failed to score), with di Resta claiming sixth. Jamie Green completed a late race charge to claim eighth behind Glock to be the only Audi point scorer, with the top ten completed by Martin and Spengler. Results The second race final result is displayed below: ** Auer was promoted back to seventeenth despite his accident causing the red flag on the countback rule. Milestones * Standings Having failed to score a single point all weekend, lost the lead of the Championship with just 100 points left on offer over the rest of the season. Pascal Wehrlein pulled fourteen ahead, and could have been even further ahead if BMW had not had such a dominant weekend. That said, Bruno Spengler remained 36 points behind in fifth, with Edoardo Mortara and Jamie Green in between. Marco Wittmann also held remote hopes of defending his crown, but the fight was all but over for the rest of the field. The brilliant Bavarian performance was better displayed in the Brands' Championship, where BMW had smashed through the 500 point barrier to take the lead from Audi. The strong showing also promoted their entries in the Teams' Championship, with Team MTEK slotting into second behind HWA. Abt Sportsline sat in third as best of the Audi teams, who were the big losers over the weekend, although Mercedes were at the foot of both tables through the lack of pace shown by . Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown. References Videos and Images: * References: Category:Races Category:2015 Races Category:Oschersleben